5 gentle tips to feeling re-energized - Spring Clean your Life

5 gentle tips to feeling re-energized

Personally Spring Cleaning for me brings about a deep sigh of ahhhh yes,

We’re reflecting on what we need, don’t need, cleansing and inevitably…each time…creating space and yes, room to grow into more of what we are leaning into.

It seems like a perfect analogy for what I have in mind for you here 🙂

At the same token…why do we wait till Spring??

In brief, we can reflect on different areas of our lives, let go of things that have come to a natural end or no longer in alignment with our path and make space to cultivate those habits, relationships that will help you move into feeling, living and thriving the way your true self wants for you!

1) De-Clutter your home

Let’s start with the basics, clutter in the home = clutter in our mind body. Test this out, declutter your space and make room for spaciousness.

Its also a great time to be mindful about your future purchases. As you discard, take note and be grateful for what the item has offered you and dispose with care (can you donate? Recycle?)

Take note how you feel afterwards, take some time to sit in with the sensations you are feeling.

2) Review Sleep

You may already be aware of how important sleep is to our overall mental and psychical health, yet, it is also not uncommon to let things slide (Netflix all nighters anyone?!) rippling into late mornings, feelings of grogginess.

Now I am not advocating for never staying up late, but I am suggesting an honest review.

Is there room for improving the quality of your sleep? Can you implement a night time routine that will encourage you to sleep more soundly?

Some suggestions would be:

• Set a bedtime

• Ensure devices are off an hour before bedtime or wearing blue/red-light blocking,

• Make a herbal tea

• Listen to music

• Read a good book

• Take a warm shower or bath

• Self massage routine

• Practice some slow breathing, stretch

• Evening journal pages

• Prepare your bedroom (cool, dark and quiet)

3) Start Journaling/Expressive Writing

Awareness and research on the benefits of Journaling has been compiling now for a number of years! I won’t get into the nitty gritty stuff here but here is your chance to;

• Get to know yourself

• Increase Mental Health

• Reducing anxiety

• Catch cyclic or of obsessive thinking and analysis

• Shed a light of awareness and perception of events

• Regulating emotions

• Boosting physical health (Michael Grothaus notes that there are studies suggesting journaling can strengthen the immune system, drop blood pressure, help you sleep better, and generally keep you healthier)

• Improve working memory

• Get creative!

All of this as your left side brain (the analytical rational side) is occupied, your right side (the creative, touchy feely side!) is free to wander and express itself in a playful manner! Allowing your creativity to flourish and expand can be cathartic and make a big difference in your daily well-being.

4) Do a Social Media detox

One day you will look back and recall all the time you spent on social media and wonder why you didn’t invest that time someplace else. GERMANY KENT

Try expanding this to news, negative messages or attitudes (eg. gossip). It’s not easy for our nervous at first if we are wired to hear these messages but allow yourself the opportunity to see, sense and feel the world around you without the filter derived from social media, news and people around us.

Dedicate this time to doing the things that uplift and nourish you. It’s a great way to try a few things especially with the newly found time you have carved out for yourself. Listen to some music, dance, go for a walk in nature, listen to music or ready a book.

As you do so, take note after a few weeks as to how you feel, in your body and soul to have taken time to for yourself.

5) Digest your emotions

Yes, this one is a brilliant practice but it may cause some of you to stiffen up with resistance. That is okay too.

We want to allow whatever it is that you are feeling (feelings, sensations, images, symbols) to be present without needing to attach our state to a story. Our nervous system reacts first causing sensations in our bodies and our mind scurries to attach a story as to why we feel the way we do.

Try practicing simply being with the state you are in, amazed at the wonders of how our body receives these signals and how amazing it is that it is constantly changing. The mind is only trying to keep you safe but sometimes, well, gets in the way of us just processing and being with the sensations themselves in their pure form.

Try laying down when doing this practice at first, just for a few minutes and in time, you may find that a lot of these states pass…just by having your undivided attention they will pass. Some stronger states may require your attention over a period of time and that is okay too. There is nowhere we are aspiring to here, just simply being with, and digesting the sensations as they come, being with them, without judgement.

If you feel safe to, give it a try and remember to reach out here if you need assisatnce.

BONUS

6) Connect with Nature

This is as simple as it sounds but some of us may have heard it before and wonder, yes, but how? Doing what?

Here are some tips to get you started!

• Gardening

• Walking in nature

• Sit and read on the earth

• As simple as being in the sun or the rain and grounding ourselves in it

• Go for a Picnic

There are some incredible benefits to doing so including (but not limited to!);

• improved cognitive abilities

• using peripheral vision

• feeling less stressed

• better mood

Key is to connect with the nature around you. When you feel ready, truly appreciating the nature around you.